Circular economy standards for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation region
We have produced a report on standards to accelerate the circular economy transition in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region.
The challenge
Standards play a crucial role in facilitating international cooperation for transitioning to a circular economy. They provide essential definitions and principles, help build and maintain consumer trust, guarantee minimum quality and safety of new products, and support the development of markets for secondary materials, among other functions. However, the effort to integrate circularity into the global value chain faces challenges due to uneven progress in adopting circular economy standards, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region.
Improving the adoption of circular economy standards and practices needs effective collaboration across various sectors and among all member economies. This includes identifying the barriers that prevent businesses from adopting circular economy standards and leveraging the opportunities they offer.
Our response
We collaborated with Standards Australia on the report Implementing Circular Economy Standards in the APEC Region.
The project’s goal is to enhance the adoption of circular economy standards and practices within the APEC region.
This report draws on findings from a comprehensive desktop review of the standards and policy landscape, a hybrid workshop in Seattle conducted by Standards Australia with standard experts from the APEC region, workshop surveys, and interviews with circular economy experts.
The report identified several barriers to the adoption of circular economy standards, which include:
- Standard development and access
- Markets, value chains and labour
- Policy and regulations
- Socio-cultural and knowledge
Project participants proposed recommendations for key actors, including industry, standards development organisations, governments, and international/regional organisations, to support a greater adoption of circular economy standards and practices. These recommendations recognise the varied roles these actors play in standards development, application within industry, and their interplay with other governance tools such as policy and regulations.
Impact
The 21 APEC economies accounted for 78 per cent of Australia’s two-way trade in 2021. Increasing the adoption of circular economy standards and practices in these economies will contribute substantially to closing Australia’s material loops and forging a pathway to a more circular economy. It will also support industry, standards development organisations, governments, and international/regional organisations in fostering future collaborations.
This project was funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, responding to the recommendations of the 13th APEC Sub-Committee on Conformance and Standards conference to share circular economy case studies and develop standards guidance for the APEC region.
Report
